Essig A, Zucs P, Susa M, Wasenauer G, Mamat U, Hetzel M, Vogel U, Wieshammer S, Brade H, Marre R
Department of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University of Ulm, Germany.
Clin Infect Dis. 1995 Dec;21(6):1495-7. doi: 10.1093/clinids/21.6.1495.
We report the case of a woman who had pneumonia due to Chlamydia psittaci. A Chlamydia species was determined to be the causative agent of the pneumonia because it was isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, because it could be detected in lung biopsy specimens by the direct immunofluorescence technique, and because Chlamydia-specific antibodies could be detected by ELISA and microimmunofluorescence. The infectious agent could not be identified at the species level with use of serological techniques, but the isolate was determined to be C. psittaci by PCR with use of species- and genus-specific sequences within the chlamydial lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis gene gseA. The case reported herein exemplifies the problems encountered in diagnosing ornithosis and shows that isolation of the etiologic agent followed by identification of the species by PCR is helpful in diagnosing this rare disease. In addition, the findings in our case show that laboratory personnel who are conducting tests for Chlamydia pneumoniae should be aware of the risk of accidentally isolating highly infectious C. psittaci organisms.
我们报告了一例因鹦鹉热衣原体感染而患肺炎的女性病例。确定衣原体属为该肺炎的病原体，原因如下：它是从支气管肺泡灌洗液中分离出来的；通过直接免疫荧光技术可在肺活检标本中检测到；通过酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）和微量免疫荧光法可检测到衣原体特异性抗体。利用血清学技术无法在种水平上鉴定出感染因子，但通过聚合酶链反应（PCR），利用衣原体脂多糖生物合成基因gseA内的种属特异性序列，确定该分离株为鹦鹉热衣原体。本文报告的病例例证了在诊断鸟疫过程中遇到的问题，并表明分离病原体后通过PCR鉴定种属有助于诊断这种罕见疾病。此外，我们病例中的发现表明，进行肺炎衣原体检测的实验室工作人员应意识到意外分离出高传染性鹦鹉热衣原体的风险。
